More COVID-19 cases reported PNG total increases to 2,173
A total of 90 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Papua New Guiunea on Saturday , bringing the national total of confirmed cases to 2,173 with the death toll remaining at 21.
The new cases have come from five provinces with the highest of 65 from the National Capital District. The others were: West Sepik – 3; Autonomous Region of Bougainville – 4; Enga -11; and Hela - 7.
The reports are showing that everyone is at risk of getting COVID-19 – young and old. Among the 65 new cases from NCD, for instance, 28 were males and 35 were females while two did not state their sex. The age range is from nine to 60 years old.
The positive cases are scattered in all the three districts in NCD. Except in WSP where the new cases are found in Vanimo Green, the other provinces also show that the positive cases come from all the districts. For example, in Enga, the 11 new cases come from Wapenamda, Kompian, Wabag and Kandep.
The total number of cases in the country are distributed as follows:
* NCD – 1030;Western – 324;West New Britain – 197;Morobe – 87;Autonomous Region of Bougainville – 48; Eastern Highlands – 45;Madang – 44;East New Britain – 39;Western Highlands – 37; Enga – 29;New Ireland – 23; Central – 22; East Sepik – 16;Jiwaka – 16; Hela – 8;Chimbu – 4; Southern Highlands – 3; and Milne Bay – 2.
The Controller of the PNG COVID-19 National Pandemic Response and Police Commissioner David Manning has once again called on everyone in the country to follow the health measures in place to prevent further spread of the virus in the country.
He has appealed particularly to people living in towns or urban areas to ensure they do not carry this virus to the rural and remote areas where it may be difficult for people to seek health care.
Manning said, “We must do all we can to ensure this virus does not spread to the rural and remote areas of our country.”
He urged citizens to continue to practice the health measures such as: regular hand wash; cover your cough or cough into your elbow; avoid crowds; maintain physical distance from the next person by 1.5 to 2 metres; and wear a face mask all the time when in public and in places like shops, markets and on PMVs.
“I urge all PMV owners to take some responsibility by talking to the bus-drivers and crew to follow the health measures in place by making sure the PMVs are not over crowded and that all passengers wear face masks. If you want to continue to operate your business without the government imposing strict measures, please do your part by following the health rules in place. It is for the good of everyone,” Manning said.....PACNEWS
Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk hopes to speak with Prime Minister Scott Morrison within the next 24 hours after tests in neighbouring Papua New Guinea (PNG) revealed much higher than expected rates of COVID-19.
The state's authorities have already fast-tracked vaccinations in the Torres Strait amidst the worsening situation in PNG.
“We have major concerns now about what is happening in Papua New Guinea,” Premier Palaszczuk said in a press conference today.
“We have been assisting with some tests in Papua New Guinea, and out of the 500 tests that our health authorities have done for Papua New Guinea, 250 have come back positive.
“Papua New Guinea is on the doorstep of the Torres Strait and Queensland, and I hope that I'll be able to speak to the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister's office in the next 24 hours just to talk about our concerns there.”
She said conversations would look at incoming flights from PNG, as well as the issue of many Queenslanders who work or live in the country.
Queensland Acting Chief Health Officer Dr Sonya Bennett said the circumstances called for a coordinated response.
“I think there's an issue there for the Federal Government. I understand that they are providing some assistance into Papua New Guinea, but maybe we need to look at a vaccine roll-out program there as well,” she said.
“It's right on our doorstep and it is a real risk, and as you know that's why we're getting our Torres Strait Islanders vaccinated as quickly as possible.
“I think we have to look at the flights. We know that the charter flights from Ok Tedi mine have already been suspended.”
The Sunshine State is also getting on top of any potential outbreak after its 59-day streak of no community transmission was broken on Friday, 12 March with a doctor from the Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital testing positive to the virus
The individual had contact with COVID-positive patients in the early hours of 10 March, and tests indicate a low level of the virus which means they may have only been infectious in the community for around one day on 11 March.
A public health alert was issued on Saturday for four locations the doctor visited on 11 March - the Morning After Café in West End, Corporate Box Gym in Greenslopes and the Stones Corner Hotel, as well as the McDonald's Drive-Thru on Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo.
The doctor's closest contacts have all tested negative to the coronavirus, but the Premier says 24 hours are still needed to see if there's any community transmission spread from the case.
QLD reported six new cases of COVID-19 today, all in hotel quarantine and none of them in the Hotel Grand Chancellor, which was put into lockdown over the weekend after there appeared to be contagion between guests on one floor, two of whom were patients seen by the doctor who became infected.
All guests who were on that floor between 5-9 March will be asked to go into quarantine and be tested again. People who stayed on other floors during that period will also be asked to get a test and isolate until they receive a negative result.
“All staff are tested daily through saliva tests and we have had no positive in staff, so that's very reassuring, but we're also retesting staff today through the usual gold standard nasal swab testing as well just to be sure,” Dr Bennett said.
“There's also a lot of work to understand what the event may have been. We've seen this before - we know that some people are highly infectious and that is likely the case in this instance, and can transmit the virus through very little exposure.”
Queensland now has 38 active cases of COVID-19.
SOURCE: PNG GOVT/BUSINESS NEWS AUSTRALIA/PACNEWS/ ONEPNG
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